"Notes for A & N"

On August 17, 1954, Bea felt the urge to write down a few thoughts on a scrap of notepaper, while at Rehobeth Beach in Delaware. I was seven; Nick, four.

“The most important thing is to express true emotion.

Moral strength, or more exactly, spiritual strength, is much different in its demands from what we might think it would be.

Everyone has his own inner needs, everyone.

The demands of life are two-fold:

1.) find some way of realizing one’s own inner needs

2.) keep oneself in a willing, open, receptive state to realize the needs of those whose lives are related to ours.

The second may be harder, but it is essential to a healthy, happy life.

Isolation will result when this giving and taking is, for whatever reason, not optimal. I think people can make the two-way effort. There are many aspects of life, which will help. The sooner people find what gives them joy the better equipped they will be for the giving and taking.

The natural world is a great source of comfort. I don’t think it is necessary to wonder why this is so. One should simply experience nature often, and, if that can best be done alone, then alone.”